Canadians tend to define ourselves by what we are not. There are many reasons for this, but the main one is that there is really no such thing as “Canada”.
Yes, there is a national government, but there is no homogeneous culture, That is actually one of Canada’s strengths, but it means that it is very difficult to define what being Canadian actually is. The USA has been described as a melting pot, where people from all over the world come and integrate and become American. Canada, on the other hand, is a mosaic, where people come and bring the best of their old country and add to the fabric of Canada whilst retaining a little of what makes them German, Ukrainian, British, Chinese and so on.
And of course there is the French dimension, probably the most visible expression of this mosaic, a distinct culture that has resisted being assimilated. More on that later.
So what are Canadians not? A few years ago, it was encapsulated in “The Rant”. This was actually an advert for a beer (called Canadian as it happens). A young chap came on stage and began to speak, becoming more and more agitated, as pictures relating to what he was saying appeared on a screen behind him. The Rant went like this:
Hey, I’m not a lumberjack, or a fur trader….
I don’t live in an igloo or eat blubber, or own a dogsled….
and I don’t know Jimmy, Sally or Suzy from Canada,
although I’m certain they’re really really nice.
I have a Prime Minister, not a president.
I speak English and French, not American.
And I pronounce it ‘about’, not ‘a boot’.
I can proudly sew my country’s flag on my backpack.
I believe in peace keeping, not policing,
diversity, not assimilation,
and that the beaver is a truly proud and noble animal.
A toque is a hat, a chesterfield is a couch,
and it is pronounced ‘zed’ not ‘zee’, ‘zed’ !!!!
Canada is the second largest landmass!
The first nation of hockey!
and the best part of North America
My name is Joe!!
And I am Canadian!!!
The Rant was mainly addressing American misconceptions about Canada, as well as highlighting was makes Canada different from the US. Canadians are not Americans, even if Canada is “the best part of North America”.
But underlying that is the diversity of Canada. To really understand Canada, you need to appreciate that different parts of Canada are not like each other either. Yet somehow, the whole thing hangs together.
Any exploration of Canadian diversity has to start with Quebec, an island of French in a sea of English culture. “La Belle Province” is for many what makes Canada unique. But there are others too, both within Quebec and in other parts of Canada, who feel that both parties would be better off if Quebec weren’t a part of Canada. There is a close analogy here with the situation in Northern Ireland, and indeed terrorism has in the past been associated with the Quebec independence movement. For over 80% of the population, French is the mother tongue, and even more are Roman Catholic (in contrast to resolutely protestant Ontario). Montreal is the largest city (indeed the largest French-speaking city in the world after Paris), but the capital, Quebec, is the soul of the province. In 1976, a separatist government was elected, but two referendums on various types of sovereignty for Quebec have been defeated. For at least the foreseeable future, Quebec is a part of Canada.
The other large province is Ontario, which includes Canada’s capital, Ottawa (although it is on the border with Quebec and many government offices are located there). The contrasts with Quebec are numerous, but the divide is not as great as one might think. While Quebec is resolutely French, Ontario is in fact a bilingual province, and there are large pockets of French speakers, particularly in the north. Toronto, the provincial capital, is one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the world. The national pastime in the rest of Canada is to hate Ontario, and Toronto in particular. There is a feeling that Toronto has pretensions that it can’t live up to. “We’re a world-class city,” is the cry of Torontonians (as they busily try to find reasons why this is so). “Yeah, right,” says the rest of Canada. But Toronto has a lot to offer. Ontario is the driving force of the Canadian economy, and that’s probably why more people (one third of Canadians) choose to live there than anywhere else in Canada.
In the east are the Maritime provinces. These are New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island (Canada’s smallest province) but not Newfoundland and Labrador, which joined Canada in 1949 and is in a class by itself. Together they form the Atlantic provinces. The economy revolves mostly around fishery and lumber, and it is a relatively poor part of Canada, with Newfoundland and Labrador suffering a great deal from the decline of North Atlantic fish stocks.
West of Ontario are the prairie provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta. Here agriculture is the driving force, especially grains and ranching, as well as oil in Alberta. This is where most of the Eastern European immigrants settled, lured by large tracts of free land, and there remains strong attachment to the old countries, especially the Ukraine.
In Alberta you hit the Rocky Mountains, and on the other side is British Columbia. This is a rather genteel province, which is proud of its British associations. It also boasts a great deal of natural beauty, with fjords to rival any in Scandinavia for example.
Finally, in the far north, there are the Territories: The Yukon, the Northwest Territories and the newly created Nunavut, which was hived off from the Northwest Territories for tribal reasons. The population is very sparse, mainly native Inuit, and these areas have particular problems with poverty and other issues that subsequent Canadian governments have not found a way to address. Indeed, one of the stains on Canada’s history is the treatment of its native peoples. This has flared from time to time, and in the 90s, a single Native member of the Manitoba legislature denied the unanimous consent required to agree a new Canadian Constitution because it didn’t take into account the distinctive nature of the native populations.
But what are Canadians themselves like? Well given the above differences, there are still some
generalisations that can be made. Canadians are resolutely nice. We don’t like to cause offence, and we will always try to see the other point of view. Canadians are laid back. So laid back in fact that you sometimes wonder if they are alive. This can result in a frustrating lack of efficiency. It can take forever for your bill to come in a restaurant, for example, even if the food has been served quickly. You’ll get an apology when it finally comes, of course. Canadians love to apologise, even when they have nothing to apologise about. I am sorry, but it’s true.
Canada is a young country, and Canadians are young at heart. Play and fun are very much part of the national psyche, but there is also a strong work ethic, which has allowed Canada to become one of the G8 countries despite its small population. Being a huge country, there is a natural tendency to think big, Canadians are resolutely positive, and usually see the glass as half full (sometimes even when it’s only a quarter full).
Unlike the US, Canadians have publicly funded medical care, very similar to the NHS, but run by each province. They also have a robust social safety net, ranging from state pensions to unemployment insurance and welfare (pogey in the local slang). There is good and free education for 12 or 13 years (again depending on the province) and university is not expensive compared to south of the border.
The diversity within Canada is also reflected in Canadian food. Apart from things like maple syrup, there is no Canadian “national dish”. Rather, each region will serve up something different, depending on the background of the local population, and the availability of fresh ingredients. The food is however usually good and plentiful, and travelling around Canada can be a culinary adventure.
As you travel around Canada, you will of course find exceptions to these generalisations. For example, in some parts of rural Quebec, you might find extreme resistance if you speak to someone in English. Likewise, don’t even try to speak French in Alberta or you might be run out of town!
If you are moving to Canada, it is generally relatively easy to integrate. Canada was built on immigration after all, and it is one of the few countries to positively encourage it (especially if you have money to invest or key skills that are in short supply, and even more so if you are willing to spend some time in the far north).
Visiting Canada is best done in bite-sized chunks. Concentrate on a few cities or provinces. There is so much to see, and a “triangle tour” of Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa makes a good start. It is possible to fly between the main centres if you really want to “do” Canada in a couple of weeks.
What you will find is a country united in its diversity, proud of its role in the world today and confident about its future.
And as for the ultimate definition of what it is to be Canadian, I will leave the last word to Pierre Berton, recently deceased author, journalist and national icon: “A Canadian is someone who knows how to make love in a canoe.”
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